Ethics is a field of socio-philosophical research, within which morality is studied, expressing a particular sphere of supra-biological regulation of relations between people and the highest values and ideals of duty associated with it. Various ethical theories, including African, Native American, and Asian, have many propositions about human nature and ethics. While it is vital to remember that individual cultures have ethical concepts, there is a significant similarity between different traditions in that the ethical person is inherently humane.
Confucianism originated in ancient China and is a holistic ethical and religious doctrine in which the issues of the moral nature of humans, family life, and government were central. Tivald (2018) notes that the main idea of Confucianism is the inviolability of the orders established by heaven in the Celestial Empire. The ethics of Confucianism proclaims the supremacy of good over evil, the peculiar moral law of which is humanity, philanthropy, humanity, reverence for relatives and elders, courtesy, and devotion to the state.
Another of the most striking theories and cultural ethics is ubuntu. Ogude (2019) defines ubuntu as African ethics, which is understood not as a set of ethical orientations passed down from generation to generation, constantly developing adequately to the development of the human community. In ubuntu philosophy, the fundamental element of ethical orientations is considered a sense of community, which determines all aspects of the life of a traditional society. The main principles of Ubuntu ethics are humanity, the unity of people regardless of race, religion, and ethnicity, compassion, responsibility, orientation towards the public good, conscientiousness, and the ability to admit guilt.
In turn, Native American philosophies are many and varied, though they share some appreciable commonalities. The indigenous peoples of the North American continent have long ethical traditions dating back thousands of years. Welch (2019) asserts that a critical pillar of Native American ethics is respect for others, especially elders. People are expected to honor and care for their elders and each other. Thus, the basic principle of all the above ethical theories is respect for others and humanity.
The concept of humanity and humanism is based on the idea of human nature, to which all people belong. According to Human Nature (2021), this concept was a premise of Buddhism and Judeo-Christian thought. Within Buddhism, an existentialist and anthropological description of humans was created and the understanding that the same mental laws are valid for all people because the human condition is the same for everyone. In turn, the Judeo-Christian tradition, being conceptualized to the supreme creator and ruler – God, defined humans differently. One man and one woman are the ancestors of the whole human race, and these ancestors, like all subsequent generations, are created in the image and likeness of God. They all have the same basic features that make them human and allow them to know and love each other. This is the prerequisite for the prophetic coming of the Messiah, proclaiming the peaceful unity of all humanity.
At present, the idea of human nature, or the essence of man, has fallen into disrepute, in part because there has been growing skepticism about metaphysical and abstract concepts as the essence of humans. Moreover, this is because nowadays, the experience of humanity, on which Buddhist, Judeo-Christian, Spinoza, and Enlightenment concepts are based, has been lost. According to Human Nature (2021), contemporary psychologists and sociologists view the individual as a blank sheet of paper on which each culture writes its text. Although they do not deny the exclusivity of man, they hardly agree with any content and essence of this concept of humanity. In contrast, Marx and Freud assumed that human behavior is quite comprehensible because it is the behavior of a species that can be defined as a psychological and mental character. Marx, admitting the existence of human nature, did not share the general misconception about its particular manifestations.
In this regard, the value of ethics and the concept of an ethical personality is being updated. At first glance, it might seem that being ethical means being polite, kind, and respectful. However, this wording reflects the narrowness of the spiritual and moral horizons of the individual, which forms the philistine idea of ethics in the minds of people and, as a result, in society itself. To determine an ethical person, it is necessary to understand that ethics is primarily related to relationships between people and the duties arising from these relationships. Thus, developing this idea, it can be assumed that ethical person is not a output of a worthy upbringing. Ethical personality is a conscious person who, in addition to the standard set of self-regulation rules invested in childhood, also uses constantly replenishing and renewing stock of moral values. Otherwise, the observance of any moral and ethical prescriptions that have lost relevance does not make sense and, most importantly, values.
Therefore, an ethical personality is a person who can transform the life experience gained into individual, spiritual and moral commandments, the concept of which is based on delivering good to society, that is, humanity. These commandments further form the personal moral framework, which will influence the behavior of a person both inside and outside the social group. Moreover, this is confirmed by ethical theories, including African, Native American, and Asian ones, whose fundamental principle is humanity.
References
Human Nature. (2021). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
Ogude, J. (2019). Ubuntu and the reconstitution of community. Indiana University Press.
Tivald, J. (2018). Confucianism and neo-confucianism. In N.E. Snow (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of virtue (pp.171-189). Oxford University Press.
Welch S. (2019). Native American epistemology. In S. Welch (Ed.), The phenomenology of a performative knowledge system. Palgrave Macmillan.